Homosassa Florida

Saturday takes us down I-95 toward the Florida border. I was looking for that Flying J near Brunswick GA to get fuel. GA fuel is 23 cents less that in NC. Fuel in GA looked to be in the $2.10 range, while in NC it was $2.33.

But we were talking about something or other and the next thing I know we were crossing the FL state line. Oh well.. we'll look for fuel further down the road.

I planned on turning west on route A1A; taking it over to US301 and staying on 301 until Gainesville. I figured that there would be plenty of fuel opportunities where 301 crosses I-10. In this part of Florida you really get the feel for the farming and agriculture that is still a major part of the economy. Most think of Florida as nothing but beaches and giant theme parks (Orlando). But Florida still ranks very high in fruit, vegetable, and cattle production. And you see many horse farms in this area.

Approaching I-10 in Baldwin FL I see several truck stops that will give us an opportunity to fuel up. I pull into the giant Travel America (TA) plaza to find that there are NO RV FRIENDLY GAS PUMPS!!! This crazy place has acres of space for diesel trucks to fill up and park. And even though they advertise to the RV community, their gas pumps were so close to the front of the store that there is no way that an RV could pull into the pumps and turn back to get on the street. Next door is a Pilot truck stop that is the same way. Looking on down the road I see nothing else and I do need fuel, so I do a U-turn and go back to a small BP station/convience store. It is a small lot but the pumps are parallel to the road, so I can pull in, fuel up, and pull back on the highway. $147 later, we are back on the road.

On south through Gainsville, onto Hwy 24 and south we continue. Finally we begin to see some of the lakes and springs for which this part of Florida is known. And the temperature was warming up too. Nice! Getting back up about 75degrees or so really feels good.

Making a left turn onto Hwy 19 we are almost to Crystal River and the Homosassa area. THe traffic is heavy indicating that we are finally in a tourist area. Halls River Road, our last turn before finding the Natures Resort RV Park.

Natures Resort http://www.naturesresortfla.com/ is a quiet kind of place located on the Halls River. The camp store and office is located near the main entrance. A winding road takes you through the cg down toward the river where you find a lagoon (pond), clubhouse and activity room, laundry mat, and a marina store with a little cafe.

We chose a site (there were only a couple to choose from this time of year since it is peak season) that is about 150 yards from the river. We unhooked the car, backed the RV in, and in no time we were in our Homosassa home.

The next thing is to find some fresh seafood. I had spent time on Roadfood.com (http://roadfood.com/) to try to get some recommendations for this area. One of the places is Charlies Fish House in Crystal River. So that was our first stop. It is right on Crystal River and the view was great, as well as the food.

Over the next couple of days we'll explore the area.